Shanmen Cave Scenic Area

Shanmen Cave Scenic Area

Shanmen Cave is located in Wenji Mountain, 15 kilometers north of Ningguo City. Also known as Shimen, it is also called Lingyan. Wenji Mountain is composed of limestone, featuring grotesque rocks and numerous caves. It is recorded that there are “seventy-two caves of various sizes,” among which the six most famous are Longtan, Ziyun, Pipa, Lianyi, Lingyan, and Chaoyang. These caves are only about a li apart from each other, with Lingyan (Shanmen Cave) being the most extraordinary. Shanmen Cave is a natural cave, ten meters high and seventeen meters wide, with sheer stone walls that suddenly open up like a city gate, wide enough for carts and horses to pass through. Inside the cave entrance stands Lion Peak, resembling a roaring lion lifting its head.

Further inside are the Chaoyang Cave and Zaoguo Cave. Outside the cave entrance stand nine ginkgo trees, towering and shading the area, highlighting the ancient and lush charm of the cave entrance. Nearby are the Water Cave, Tian Cave, and Lotus Cave, all serene and charming, with various naturally formed stalagmites and stalactites, each displaying unique beauty.

During the Tahe era of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (366–371), a local scholar named Zhai Xing secluded himself in Ziyun Cave, marking the beginning of the development of Shanmen Cave. Later generations referred to Lingyan Cave as “Zhai Xing’s Stone Chamber” and inscribed stones to commemorate it. By the Zhenyuan era of the Tang Dynasty (785–805), a temple was first built near the cave, and during the Zhiping era of the Song Dynasty (1064–1067), it was bestowed the name “Lingyan Temple.” Since then, the temple has enjoyed enduring incense offerings and flourishing popularity, attracting many literati and poets who left behind numerous poetic verses. The poet Zhou...

once wrote the line, “Among the wonders of the world, there is a mountain with a gate; among the wonders of mountain gates, none compare to Shanmen,” which has been passed down through the ages. To this day, carvings on the stone walls such as “Fairy Rock Wall” and “Buddha Seat Lingyan” can still be faintly discerned.

Exact location: Shanmen Cave is located in Wenji Mountain, 15 kilometers north of Ningguo City.